A Stranger in A Strange Land

Greetings! It sure has been a busy few weeks. Last week and this week I’ve been on the road for work; last week to San Diego, and this week to Fallon, NV. It’s a bit of a bummer to miss this much time with Gwen and the boys this close to Christmas, to say the least. However, the work I’m engaged in has been interesting, at least. It is an interesting experience seeing Fallon for the first time…this place, the home of the “Top Gun” air-to-air weapons school, is deeply entrenched in the Naval Aviation culture, which is a very different experience for this submariner!These two trips have been unusual in that they are he first they I’ve taken in a long time without a laptop along for the ride. Unfortunately, my 6 year old Alienware lappy has bit the dust. Instead, I’ve been relying on my iPad for my computing needs, which has mostly worked but honestly just isn’t the same. I find that doing word processing is a pain, and doing work with things like spreadsheets is more trouble than it’s worth. I’m also missing the ability to play some of my non-mobile games. Still, it is tough for me to justify the purchase of a shiney new replacement laptop, since my main use for the new one would be for trips such as this and I don’t take them all that frequently.

In the meantime, Gwen has been busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger trying to keep up with the boys. William and James have been diagnosed with some developmental delays, which in turn has prompted a slew of appointments with speech and physical therapists. Fortunately Gwen’s Mom has been able to help out getting the boys to and from the doctors. In between all of that, she has also found time to decorate the house for Christmas and get some shopping done. Talk about your super-Moms!

I think I’ll close with a few words on this year’s Army-Navy game. Yes, I’m disappointed that Navy lost to Army this year. However, while Navy’s slew of injuries and long stretch of games didn’t help, watching the game I could definitely tell that Army wanted the win more than Navy. So in the end, I feel like the better team won, and I congratulate Army on their victory. They better be ready for us next year though!